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[margaretandjoanna]

Passion ran in the family: The Catholic Monarchs and their children

Isabel & Fernando:

Ferdinand’s letters are passionate; ‘being in hell I would suffer less than I do now, and so many times I wish myself to die…I don’t know why Our Lord gave me so much good and so little time to enjoy it…’ Ferdinand’s letters were not rhetorical or insincere. They were a flushy passion, in a colour of crimson, roused by the separation, and exhaustion, caused by the battle over the succession in the kingdom. The remedy was to come back to live together; ‘because in getting together we help each other more than anything in life, and now is the time that all our power should be jointly exerted’.

Tarsicio de Azcona, “Isabel La Católica: Vida y reinado”

Isabel was eighteen, auburn haired and comely, her blue-green eyes steady. From all indications she was tall and stately, her bearing regal. (Her surviving portraits show only a much older and ill queen). She saw enter the room a gallant youth, eyes sparkling, taut with energy, a cousin, and a very welcome one. She and he talked for two hours. ‘The presence of the Archbishop repressed the amorous impulses of the lovers,’ according to Palencia, ‘though they soon enjoyed the licit joys of matrimony.’ By all accounts, theirs was an instant attraction, and, remarkably, it proved a passionate and long-lasting love.

Peggy K. Liss, „Isabel the Queen: Life and Times”

Palencia claimed that the young couple, aged eighteen and seventeen, were so smitten with each other that only the presence of the archbishop during their two-hour meeting prevented them from misbehaving.

 Giles Tremlett, „Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen”

Love at firts sight? Possibly. And it is an issue that should be taken into consideration, given the political consequences of perfect assembling between the two heirs of the greatest crowns of Spain, but that we can not be sure of. 

Manuel Fernández Álvarez, „Isabel la Católica”

Isabel & Alfonso:

The infanta Isabel was twenty and had become her mother’s inseparable companion. As a child she had been placed in the care of Teresa Enríquez, the wife of Gutierre de Cárdenas, a woman renowned for her devotion and piety. Intelligent and dutiful, she had been hostage to the Cabreras and then to the peace between Castile and Portugal. She knew Afonso well, for both had lived for over three years in the care of her great-aunt, Beatriz.

 Peggy K. Liss, „Isabel the Queen: Life and Times”

Although this was a political union, they fell passionately in love, lust or both. She was twenty, he was just fifteen, and their marriage ended dramatically after just eight months with Afonso’s sudden death in July 1491. Like the tragic heroines of the first Spanish sentimental novels that the new printing presses in Burgos and other cities were beginning to produce – including the popular Treatise on the Loves of Arnalte and Lucenda, which was dedicated to the queen’s ladies, who must have been the novels’ most avid readers – the young Isabella reacted dramatically. She cut off her magnificent reddish-blonde hair and dressed in the habit of a Poor Clare nun. ‘She does not want to know another man,’ reported Peter Martyr d’Anghiera.

Giles Tremlett, „Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen

Juana & Philip

Finally, at Lier, on 12 October 1496, the first meeting took place. And then, the unexpected happened; the stroke of passion, the uncontrollable sexual fury. ‘At first sight - according to German historian, Ludwig Pfandl - the breeding instinct of the two youngsters (she was 16 and he 18 years old) flared up, with such ardor that they did not wait for the ceremony, that was to take place two days later, but summoned the first priest they could find, so he would give them his blessing, and they could consummate the marriage the same evening.’

Manuel Fernández Álvarez, “Juana La Loca: La Cautiva de Tordesillas”

Juan & Margaret:

The wedding took place on April 2, although it was Lententime. ‘Our prince,’ Mártir explains, ‘burning with love, got his parents to dispense with protocol in order to get to the desired embraces.’ There was one somber note, a knight died jousting. Mártir, at his most prescient, worried that it was a portent of unhappiness to come. In a letter of June 13 he described Margaret: ‘if you saw her, you would think you were contemplating Venus herself.’ Yet he trembled to think that some day that beauty might lead to unhappiness and the loss of Spain. For the prince, carried away with love of her, was pale and thin and ‘bore himself sadly.’ The doctors and the king were counseling the queen that some of the time the two should be separated, ‘for too frequent copulation constitutes a danger to the Prince.’

Peggy K. Liss, „Isabel the Queen: Life and Times”

María & Manuel:

Isabel soon heard that Maria’s marriage was a happy one, Manuel solicitous and giving his bride magnificent presents, María beaming and, reassuringly, spending much time with her sagacious great-aunt, Beatriz of Braganza. María, least promising of Isabel’s children, proved the happiest, and assuredly the most fertile, raising ten children of her own.

 Peggy K. Liss, „Isabel the Queen: Life and Times”

Katherine & Henry:

Catalina wrote to her father: ‘Our English kingdoms enjoy peace and the people love us, as my husband and I love one another.’

 Peggy K. Liss, „Isabel the Queen: Life and Times”

Catherine was expected to play her part in the king’s pleasures. She and her husband were quite different in character. Where he was all fun-loving ebullience, she was good-humouredly serious. Fortunately she also shared many of his interests. From hunting to music, from their outwardly pious religious orthodoxy to their views on foreign affairs, they were more than compatible. Both were well read and well educated by humanist teachers. She could sew his shirts, but also discuss how to make war on France. He could spend all day hunting in the saddle. She was the daughter of a woman who employed 450 staff to keep her hunting estates ready and whose father took 120 falconers out on a single day’s hunt. Her father even ignored those who worried about his health, preferring an early grave with hunting to a dull old age without it. Catherine herself liked to hunt with hawks – something that Henry also eventually came to enjoy. The newly-weds matched, too, in bed. Henry had none of the sexual problems attributed to his brother – at least, not yet. The court went to bed late, often after midnight.

 Giles Tremlett,  „Catherine of Aragon: Henry’s Spanish Queen”

[margaretandjoanna]

[margaretandjoanna]

Helmet of Philip the Handsome. Workshop of Negroli. Milan, c. 1495-1500. Etched, gilt, and silvered steel; brass, gold, filigree. Real Armería, Madrid.

https://www.facebook.com/museum.of.artifacts/

[margaretandjoanna]

Who was the favourite child of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon?

Isabella loved all of her childrens.

But she felt weakness for John, called him “my angel”.

She loved Isabella of Aragon and loved Katherine of Aragon (she was the little ^-^).

I don’t know much about María of Aragon, because is the great unknown (-.-), but loved her :).

And… Joanna of Castile, the relation between Joanna and her mother was complicated (one quote about the feeling of Isabella to Joanna: She truly loved her but never really understood her.).

And one of the last moments was horrible, the farewell between them was really bittersweet (my heart breaks) =(.

Ferdinand.

Well, he loved his son.

John died in her arms :S =(.

I don’t know much about his relation with Isabella and María but I believe who loved them.

Joanna of Castile was the child of his eyes, Joanna idolized her father.

And I believe that Katherine of Aragon was his second favourite daughter.

The relation of Ferdinand with Joanna and Katherine is a irony :S.

[margaretandjoanna]

Juana Enríquez) (1425-1468), queen consort of Aragon (1458-1468).

[margaretandjoanna]

The paternal grandmother of Katherine of Aragon was a bitch.

Juana Enríquez was a pure poison.

Curiosity:

Joanna of Castile takes her name (Juana, in spanish xD) from her grandmother, the physical appearance was really notorious.

Ferdinand of Aragon called her “mi madrecita” (my little mother) and Isabella of Castile called her “suegra” (mother-in-law).

[margaretandjoanna]

A sharp contrast to his father’s attitude towards his mother...

“Si así ha de pensar un Rey, yo no lo soy. Cuando la miro no veo a la Emperatriz, ni a la Reina, ni a quien pueda darme hijos…veo a aquella sin la cual mi vida sería menos vida.”

“If that’s the way a King should think, I am not. When I look at her, I don’t see the Empress, nor the Queen, nor the one who can give me children…I see the one without whom my life would be less of a life.”

[margaretandjoanna]

There’s also the issue of pretty much ALL the costumes being wrong, often completely different to portraits of those people from that time. I’m thinking Margaret of Austria here - depicted in the V-neck style that her mother and grandmother wore.

But, yes, I also am still looking forward to an English translation.

Ángela Cremonte as Mary I of England in Carlos, Rey Emperador, episode 12

[margaretandjoanna]

Ice harvesting at Kissena Lake, New York. 1890.

via reddit

[margaretandjoanna]

Love this transition in clothing, and have been studying it for over a decade, I love how you've placed it in its historical context. However, I'm not convinced that corset is the right word here, or even that something like a corset was being worn this early.

There's no evidence that I am aware of that a boned or even reeded item is either depicted in art or mentioned in textual sources. Also, if you look at the silhouette of this time (late 15th century), and place (Hapsburg Netherlands), you don't see the stiff cone that is associated with the early corsets, but rather a soft shape in keeping with the female form. An examination of images of this time suggest that up to 3 layers of dress were being worn, including the supportive kirtle from the previous 2 centuries. Together they provide this particular shape, and are in keeping with a transition - the outer layer has changed substantially with fashion, the inner layers start to change as the 16th century progresses and the competition in splendour of the Western European Courts commences.

This particular image of Margaret is of a young girl, who has probably not yet hit puberty and thus the dress would not show this shaping to accommodate her figure.

The description of the hat is good, love your analysis of the layers

late 15th century (ca. 1490), Netherlandish

Margaret of Austria by Jean Hey (AKA Master of Moulins)

The daughter of Emperor Maximilian I, Margaret of Austria was betrothed at the age of three to the infant dauphin Charles, the future Charles VIII, and served briefly as “queen of France” from 1483 to 1491. She is shown here around the age of ten, one year before she was repudiated by her intended husband. The initials C and M within the border of Margaret’s collar (backwards C in the left border) probably signify their union. The chain of gold shells on her headdress may be part of the armorial insignia of the Bourbon dynasty with which she was then associated. The elaborate pendant of a pelican piercing its breast to draw blood with which to feed its young (the blood represented by the large hanging ruby), a symbol of Christian charity, alludes to the sitter’s piety. These elements are mounted on a gold fleur-de-lis. Demonstrably showing her faith, Margaret holds a large gold filagree Paternoster bead of her rosary and looks to the right, presumably toward (what was originally) the object of her devotion. The right wing of this diptych, now lost, would have shown the Virgin and Child.

-Met

source - Met

The silhouette of fashionable dress in later 15th century transitioned from flowy, voluminous draperies of the skirt and curving, soft contoures of the bodice towards controlled, stiff and flat, signaling the onset of the era of corsets and farthingales.

The burgundy dress of young Margaret is a beautiful, typical example of changing fashions at the break of the centuries. The look is straight-fronted and relatively severe, but much less so than its Tudor and Elizabethan evolution. The neckline is - notably - squared, wide and low, but later, as the 16th century progresses, becomes even wider and lower (to the extreme, really). This is allowed because the supportive strength of the corset - in contrast with the previous form-fitting garment, the laced kirtle - does not require that much anchoring at the shoulders.

The headcover is layered (there seems to be a cap, a hood and a veil) and has distinguishable billiment (the pearly part framing the face) and black frontlet. The hood was previously often worn with a cap or hennin and with the decorative black loop on the forehead, which might have been either attached to the hood, or to headband worn underneath (…or somewhere else).

[margaretandjoanna]

Not actually "today", but a lovely scene of Margaret's wedding in Spain.

♕ Today in History ♕ The wedding of prince John of Aragon and Margaret of Austria.

The celebrations of the marriage of John and Margaret were great. The religious ceremony was held at the Burgos Cathedral in 3 April 1497 and the Cardinal Cisneros was responsible for the homily. After the wedding, came the great wedding feast.

After the dinner, the dance was started by the king Ferdinand who danced with Princess Margaret. Prince John danced with her sister Mary of Aragon and the Duke of Alba to Katherine of Aragon (she was eleven years old in that year), and would definitely be her first dance.

If you want to learn more about this marriage, you should read this topic in our forum (in Spanish): http://www.serieisabel.com/t154-el-apasionado-matrimonio-del-principe-juan-y-margarita-de-austria

[margaretandjoanna]

Huh, I did not know this. Hooray Internet!

Women who have previously held the title Princess of Asturias by marriage.

The title was created in 1388 for the future Henry III of Castile and Catherine of Lancaster. A part of the pact (“Accord of Bayonne”) was to grant the young couple the title of Prince and Princess of Asturias, which was modelled after that of Prince of Wales in the Kingdom of England. The title was to belong to the official successor of the Castilian throne. Thus the first holder of the princedom was the young Henry of Castile and the first woman to hold the title by marriage was his wife, Catherine of Lancaster.

The current holder of the title is Princess Letizia, the wife of Crown Prince Felipe.

Catherine of Lancaster

Blanche II of Navarre

Margaret of Austria

Maria Manuela of Portugal

Mary I of England

Elisabeth of France

Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans

Barbara of Portugal

Maria Luisa of Parma

Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily

[margaretandjoanna]

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As I promised, the first meeting between Joanna of Castile and Philip the Handsome. The scene is in spanish, but you can feel the sexual tension between them. You can´t expect kisses and nudity scenes, but their glances, the voice of him, the nerves on edge and the music is much better.

From Isabel (TVE).

[margaretandjoanna]

Margaret was awesome, look at how she paved the way for these other women.

→ Female Governors of the Spanish/Austrian Netherlands. The Governor (Dutch: Landvoogd) or Governor-General (Gouverneur-Generaal) ruled the Habsburg Netherlands as a representative of the Counts of Burgundy (until 1549), the Kings of Castile (1556-1706), and the Archdukes of Austria (1716-1794). I have been inspired by my finales work for uni “The Royal power In Brussels during the modern times” and I realized that quite a lot of women ruled as Governor.

[margaretandjoanna]

“The study of queenship has expanded significantly in the last few decades, particularly regarding the role of the queen to complement the king, and the potential benefits and burdens—political and familial—that a queen brought to her husband. While late medieval queens were chosen based on a series of criteria, a potential bride‘s family was always implicitly considered, since the choice was one of the most sensitive diplomatic nature. The implications of this family differed depending on if a queen was foreign or not. A foreign queen could bring potential alliances to her husband‘s country, while a native born queen might further elevate an already powerful family and link them more closely to the throne which might threaten the security of the king and the succession of his chosen heir.”

Bookmarking to read later for parallels with Margaret and Joanna’s lives. Especially as Margaret of York was sister-in-law an aunt to both Elizabeths in the article, and she has a strong influence on Margaret’s childhood

[margaretandjoanna]

Some background on the historical political reality of Margaret and Joanna’s lives. Fear of the Ottoman advance across Europe, following the downfall of Constantinople was a real thing, and the Hapsburg lands were in close proximity to the Turks.

It would be interesting to see what effect this background threat had on social and material cultures as we see a serious transition at this time in both areas. If anyone has anything on this, then I’d be keen to see it.

October 15th, 1529 | The Siege of Vienna

1529 and Europe and the Middle East are pretty much demonstrating one of the coolest eras of warfare: swords, spears, halberds, and just a hint of cannon and muskets. The world was changing, but one common denominator had been the Ottoman Empire. From 1299 to 1453 they demonstrated a meteoric rise in power and dominance, expanding from a single Turkish state - one of many - under Osman I, to a byzantine skull crushing, gut slicing, Balkan humping, Empire with Constantinople arm barred into submission in 1453 and duly made the capital. There were setbacks, sometimes the odd loss, but to all intents and purposes the Ottomans looked at a new patch of turf, mutually agreed that it would be awesome to park a tent on it, and promptly DESTROYED anyone who said otherwise. They were proving to be impossible to stop.

Enter Suleiman the Magnificent (also known as “the Lawgiver” in the East, but unless we’re talking about Judge Dredd’s gun, I’m going with “Magnificent,” ‘cos he bloody well was.) Suleiman was the tenth - and longest reigning - Sultan, and had a tendency to lead his own armies as they stabbed their way across Europe.

But he wasn’t just a kilij swinger, he was also a distinguished poet and goldsmith, became a great patron of culture, and personally instituted major legislative changes relating to society, education, taxation, and criminal law. The dude seriously had his shit together.

The thing about Suleiman is he liked to go “old school” when it came to warfare. I’m talking *BIG* armies. The type of armies where you wake up in the morning, stretch, look out of the window and see nothing else but horizon to horizon men and cannon. The type of early-morning-waking-call that causes you to have a baby on the spot.

Upon succeeding his father Suleiman set his eyes on Hungary, something his great-grand papa had failed to snag back in the day. The thing about Hungary is that they were the only real obstacle to complete dominance over Europe; the fall of Hungary would just open everything up and make them unstoppable.

Suleiman encircled Belgrade and began a series of heavy bombardments from an island in the Danube. Belgrade, with a garrison of only 700 men, and receiving no aid from Hungary, fell in August 1521. And just to prove it wasn’t a fluke he promptly face-smashed Rhodes with 400 ships and then defeated Louis II of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács.

He then set his eyes on Vienna itself.

Being “The Magnificent” Suleiman gathered up a force of 120,000 to 300,000 men. Now 18th-century European historians tended to exaggerate numbers so make the defenders of Vienna look even more macho and ballsy, but even if we go with the lower range, it is quite clear that 120,000 men is a freaking buttload.

But there was a catch: if you stomp around Europe with 120,000 men, you can bet your sweet cheeks that there are going to be enormous logistical problems. Throw in the possibility of bad weather and things could go sour real fast. And parts of Europe tended to get bad weather around this type of year. Parts of Europe like …. oooooh … Hungary, for example.

The spring rains were particularly heavy this year and the route to Vienna became barely passable. Large-caliber cannon became stuck in the mud, artillery pieces became mired down and had to be abandoned, camels were all like “what the fuck is this shit?” and died out of spite, and the army itself started to get sick and drop like flies. It was bad ju-ju.

Suleiman’s Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha urged the sultan to turn back; however, Suleiman pressed on, saying, “It is beneath my dignity to allow the weather to interfere with my plans.”

As they trudged across the mud-plain of Hungary, Vienna was preparing. Local farmers, peasants and civilians banded together, determined to resist, although they were thankfully supported by European mercenaries, particularly and notably German Landsknecht pikemen and Spanish musketeers. Landsknecht were well known for chopping things up with two handed swords, and if that wasn’t working out they loved to poke you with a halberd. Needless to say they were pretty bad-ass and were well equipped to fuck up anyone set against them.

Gates were blocked, walls were reinforced - some only 6 feet thick - and earthen bastions were erected.

Despite the Ottoman army being depleted during the march and the fact that a third of the army was light cavalry - ill-suited to siege warfare - when they arrived in late September it must have been one hell of a sight. Suleiman - naturally feeling pretty damn smug with his hommies behind him - sent in 3 richly dressed Austrian prisoners to request that Vienna surrender. Salm - the commander in Vienna - sent back three richly dressed Muslims with no response. Talk about one calm-assed play.

Suleiman didn’t see the joke, so to impress his point they opened up with THREE HUNDRED cannon (which my brain is still trying to wrap itself around). Amazingly, the walls of Vienna were barely scratched. But this is seen as a ruse, because Suleiman’s real plan was to dig under the walls of the city, plant explosives, and destroy the defenses Minas Tirith style.

Salm’s spies got to hear about this though, and Salm orchestrated a clever reconnaissance of the area, locating the tunneling efforts. The defenders then dug their own tunnels and intercepted the Ottomans, flooding the tunnels with men and being the world’s first underground battle. In those darkened tunnels, laced with explosives, using muskets was - of course - a no no, so the Vienna defenders were forces to go toe-to-toe with swords and daggers, both sides tearing each other apart … all underground. Freaking amazing.

They managed to destroy most of the Ottoman tunnels, but one remained and the Ottomans were eventually able to breach a crucial Viennese gate with a well-placed mine and topple the defensive tower in its vicinity, charging the urban center with cavalry and the lethal janissary vanguard. Von Salm, however, had prepared well for this eventuality, and his well-trained German/Spanish/Italian defensive garrison cut down the Ottoman attackers with a freaking awesome pike wall and grapeshot delivered unto the face at close proximity. Which no one ever likes. The Ottomans were forced to fall back.

Von Salm then decimated Ottoman ranks that night when he ordered dozens of Austrians wearing black cloaks and armed with homemade bombs to sneak into the Ottoman camps, toss their bombs into tents and make their escape. As a result, nearly 2,000 Turks died in their sleep. The defenders were to thwart several major Ottoman charges over the next several days.

And then just as a real kicker: it started to snow, which made conditions for the Ottomans even worse. A final push failed to take the city, and Suleiman was forced to admit defeat and a retreat was ordered. On October 15th, 1529 the Siege of Vienna was lifted.

Tens of thousands had died on both sides, but it was also a milestone which marked the end of Suleiman’s expansion toward the center of Europe and, arguably, the beginning of the stagnation and decline of the Ottoman Empire as the dominant power of the Renaissance world.

Which was bad news for the Mediterranean. With the Ottomans checked in central Europe they turned their attention there instead: the stage was set for a climactic battle in 1565 between the Christian forces of the Knights Hospitaller and the Maltese in the Siege of Malta.

Fun Fact: When the Viennese raided the abandoned Turkish camps outside the city, they found bags filled with coffee beans - their first appearance in Europe - which were used by the Turks as a stimulant, since alcohol was forbidden. The drink caught on, and coffee soon became a European sensation.

More:

http://teachmiddleeast.lib.uchicago.edu/historical-perspectives/middle-east-seen-through-foreign-eyes/antiquity-modern/image-resource-bank/image-04.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_of_the_Ottoman_Empire  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire

http://www.wien-vienna.com/vienna1529.php

[margaretandjoanna]

Note: I’m pretty sure the picture used here is of Anne of Brittany, Queen of France at this time.